Saturday, May 26, 2012

Thousands rallied for Christ Church Cathedral...

Thousands rally for Christ Church Cathedral

AGAINST DEMOLITION: Elisabeth and Vic Stent sign a banner of
support.

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Several thousand people have gathered in Christchurch this afternoon to
protest the demolition of the city's Anglican cathedral.
The protest rally began in Cranmer Square and saw past and present civic
leaders, MPs and other high profile Christchurch residents calling on the
Anglican Church to immediately halt demolition work on the quake-damaged
Cathedral.
The rally came on the day an opinion poll showed the fate of the Anglican
cathedral has divided the region, with 54 per cent of those polled favouring
demolition and 42 per cent calling for it to be saved.
Former MP Jim Anderton told the crowd that 100 engineers had confirmed the
Cathedral could be saved and restoration should go ahead regardless of the cost.
If the city could afford to spend money on a new rugby stadium it could afford
to restore the city's most iconic building.
Long-time heritage campaigner and former city councillor Anna Crighton said
the Anglican Church should take heed of both the New Zealand Historic Places
Trust's and the Christchurch City Council's call for a pause to demolition work.
"Pause, consult the experts and let the public ... have a say about their
Cathedral,'' Crighton said.
After an hour of impassioned pleas for the cathedral to be saved the fired-up
crowd marched from Cranmer Square to the central city cordon at Worcester
Boulevard where the Wizard tolled a bell and called on the "evil'' Anglican
bishop to bring an end to demolition work on the Cathedral.